Economy
Gross Domestic Product by State and Metropolitan Area per Employee
Description: Gross domestic product (GDP) per employee is the broadest proxy for productivity for states and local areas. It is calculated by dividing GDP by total employment.
Gross domestic product is the most comprehensive measure of economic activity. Data are provided on Arizona Indicators since 1997 for the state and the nation. Data prior to 1997 are available for the state and the nation, but a break in series in 1997 for the state data complicates the presentation of these data. Data by metropolitan area are available only since 2001; county data are not available. GDP for the nation, states and metro areas are presented in both current dollars and inflation-adjusted dollars (though some of the historical data by state are available only in current dollars). The inflation adjustment is unique to each geographic area. Total employment includes an estimate of the number of proprietors as well as wage and salary employment.
Gross Domestic Product Per Employee for the state and nation are presented in current and inflation-adjusted dollars since 1997. The annual inflation-adjusted percent change and the current-dollar percentage of the national average also are displayed. The same data are shown since 2001 for the metro areas.
Data Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) http://www.bea.gov/regional/index.htm for gross domestic product and http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/default.cfm?catable=CA04 for employment.
Comments on the Quality of the Data: Some of the inputs to the calculation of GDP by state and by metropolitan area are estimated. The estimates for the latest year are called “advanced” or “accelerated” — an abbreviated set of mostly preliminary data and a simplified methodology are used to generate these estimates. The employment figures are estimates. The primary source is the Census of Employment and Wages, but the BEA must estimate employment for those not counted in the census. No distinction is made between full-time and part-time employment.
